Abstract
Giere, a philosopher of science who originally trained as a physicist, advocates a multidisciplinary perspective on science that avoids the excesses of either extreme relativism or extreme essentialism. Through the essays collected in this volume—all but one have been published elsewhere—Giere attempts to demonstrate that we can have realism without truth, and scientific judgment without rationality. He begins from the position that there is genuine scientific knowledge that has accumulated, especially over the last century. However, he argues that trouble arises when we assume that the same world view, within which we were able to develop successful scientific theories, provides a firm foundation for theories about science. The idealism and universalism of the Enlightenment project, both of which have been institutionalized in science and the philosophy of science, prevent us from developing theories of science that reflect actual scientific practice. For Giere, notions of scientific truth, scientific rationality, and laws of nature largely based on theological imperatives only serve to misdirect our efforts to understand science.